When You're Gone
by Angst Avenue
Summary: “You won’t leave me, right Kyle?” Her bluegreen eyes widened as she hugged him around the waist, her chin on his chest as they strode along the sidewalk, the rain having slowed to a standstill. [kylexoc]


_I always needed time on my own_

_I never thought I'd need you there when I cried_

_And the days feel like years when I'm alone_

_And the bed where you lie_

_Is made up on your side_

Rain scattered the snow upon the field, pouring in torrents as the sky cried for the child's loss, coloring the world a deep blue-gray. It seemed every person either had an umbrella or was huddling beneath a friend's except for one, lonely ten-year old who stood before the casket with intense, green eyes. Her short, pixie-cut hair was plastered to her head, the bangs shielding her left eye though at times when the tempest tugged at her golden brown locks it was revealed. Around the edges of her optics the flesh was red, swollen, from the invisible tears that flowed freely down her cheeks. Once more she was alone, the only one at the funeral to show any emotion.

_ When you walk away_

_I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

The blindingly yellow sundress that hugged her torso whipped around her knobby knees as the wind picked up, standing out among the black of the procession. She sighed, a sigh full of all the torment in her life, and averted her gaze from the face of her father. It was said that when someone died they looked peaceful; Charlie just looked dead. Dead and cold with rain splattering his powder-blue tuxedo. A thin, bird-like woman called to the child, though she paid no attention and bent over the black box to pin a plastic, lime green kitten to his chest, touching her lips to his cheek briefly. Another summons and she scampered away from her father to hover near her mother wearily, yet still far enough away to keep in the rain.

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_All the words I need to hear to always get me through the day_

_And make it okay_

_I miss you_

Slowly, painfully slowly, the top is slid over his closed eyes and six men lined up around the casket, lifting it into the ground all the while refraining from crying. What good is it to try and forget when that just makes the emptiness worse? As mud was sloshed across the hole she darted forward again, ignoring her mother's protests, and stared meekly at where her father had just been placed. **"I miss you,"** she mouthed, praying to the God that she knew didn't exist that wherever he went, Charlie would be safe. Yards away a car paused, the passenger door thrusting open, and a boy her age flew toward her, wrapping his thin arms around her waist in a warm embrace. He buried his face in her shoulder, his unruly red hair tickling her cheek, and she couldn't help but give him a small smile. Kyle had forgotten his hat in his rush to come see her; the hat he wore even to bed at night.

_I've never felt this way before_

_Everything that I do_

_Reminds me of you_

_And the clothes you left_

_They lie on my floor_

_And they smell just like you_

_I love the things that you do_

**"I'm sorry I was late,"** he apologized, releasing her as she turned to look at him. She shook her head, showing it was no big deal as long as he was here now. Moments later two other boys wove through the crowd of mourners to their sides, grinning weakly and each hugging her in turn. The blonde one snaked an arm around her thin waist and smirked when she didn't bat it away like an irksome fly as usual. By now the crowd was lessening, people were leaving except for the few closest to Charlie. Stanley rested an arm on her shoulder, squeezed it minutely for comfort, and began to guide her toward a spruce tree whose limbs sheltered them from the raging storm. Evelyn ducked away at this point, peering out from behind the redhead as she clung to him as if he too would disappear at any second. He pat her dripping hair like a dog, staring blankly ahead while he fought back tears.

_When you walk away_

_I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

Having watched her daughter flee beneath the spruce with the three boys, Kimberly frowned down her beak-like nose, her green eyes darkening. That was the only thing the girl inherited from her dark-haired mother, much to her pleasure. Otherwise, she was a female copy of Charlie in every way, right down to the perversely obnoxious personality. Knowing that the pixie wouldn't come home for quite some time, a few days at the most, the woman stormed toward her Mercedes, thrusting her umbrella into the air with a flourish, and slipped inside the silver interior. As she sped out of the cemetery, Evelyn gripped Kyle's hand, theirs fingers laced, and hurried from one pine to the next as they made progress to his house. Kenny and Stanley trailed behind them, eyes alert for the one person who could possibly make her day worse. With a sniffle, she swung under his arm and pressed against his side.

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_All the words I need to hear to always get me through the day_

_And make it okay_

_I miss you_

**"You won't leave me, right Kyle?"** Her blue-green eyes widened as she hugged him around the waist, her chin on his chest as they strode along the sidewalk, the rain having slowed to a stand-still.

**"Never,"** he replied, stroking her back with intensity in his emerald eyes that burned more than friendship.

**"Or you guys?"**

**"Only when I go to hell and you to heaven," **Kenny laughed, blue eyes dancing as he tickled her sides. She giggled and tried to hide behind Kyle again, her tears mere stains on her pale cheeks.

**"Me? Leave you?" **Stanley grinned, ruffling her hair like a little sister.

Although her friends flanked her, grinning foolishly as they forced themselves to forget what had taken place minutes before, happiness hanging in the air thickly, she frowned and her eyes clouded when they weren't looking. No matter what happened, who came into her life, tried to fill that void, she would always remember her father. The emptiness swelled and she felt the tears flow once more, but she didn't bother to stop them. What good is it to forget if the hole just deepens?

_I miss you_


End file.
